Dendrobium culture: Observations on the color of the mature canes in some Dendrobium species when exposed to strong light

Many Dendrobium need high light to bloom at their best, but the way they respond to it varies depending on the species.  My Den. nobile blooms with larger flowers with richer color when the canes are getting so much sun that they take a yellowish tint.   On the other hand, the Dendrobium primulinum from Laos produces larger flowers when the canes are exposed to full sun and turn purple.    Den anosmum doesn’t change color too much even when exposed to full sun, perhaps the canes are just a bit lighter green color.  I haven’t noticed a color change in the canes of Den devonianum, but the flowers of my plant which is exposed to full sun for hours in the morning show very pale color in the sepals and petals, so pale that it can make one think the flowers are not of devonianum unless one looks closely.  My newly acquired plant of Dendrobium ceraula shows a deep purple tint on the side of the cane that receives the sun and green on the side that is under the shade of the leaves.  In my experience Dendrobium cucullatum becomes yellowish and stunted if exposed to too much sun.   

Dendrobium nobile culture: Growing naturalized in a tree in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico

I brought this plant back in 1990, at that time it was huge, it completely filled an twelve inch basket with its canes.  I got it from a plant vendor that had been growing the plant for years without it producing a single flower.  Although the plant was large, the vendor gave it to me very cheap.  The vendor was happy to clear bench space for more profitable plants and I was happy to have a plant to experiment what conditions would make it bloom.

In December, I took the plant with me to the place I lived at the time, at an altitude of of 3500 feet, in the Sierra de Luquillo, in the eastern part of the island of Puerto Rico.  The local temperature in winter can go down into the upper fifties and the local humidity is very high often in the nineties.  I put it in a place where it would get morning sunlight but would not get rained on.   Then I didn’t water it for two months.  Because of the high humidity the canes didn’t get very shriveled and wrinkly.   In March of that year I started watering it sparingly, in April I started watering it normally but didn’t give it any fertilizer.

In May of that year the plant was covered with buds.  When it bloomed, it produced 150 large, fragrant flowers.  It was quite a spectacle.    When the plant finished blooming I took it out of the basket and divided it in many pieces.   I gave away several the pieces, potted some, put some in baskets and tied a piece to the trunk of an avocado tree.

The plant in the avocado tree grew slowly.  Mainly because I left it completely alone, no watering or fertilizer.  It has been in the tree now for three decades.  At first it was in deep shade, and it would not bloom even when the canes were fully adult sized.  Then part of the tree was cut down and the plant suffered sunburn, it bloomed weakly.  Now that it gets full sun in the morning and dappled sunlight the rest of the day it is blooming better than ever.  The canes are the largest it has ever produced, some are two and a half feet long.

The flowers are fewer and larger than the plants that are potted and get watered and fertilized.  The color of the flowers is variable.  I have observed that the plants that are in full sun have flowers with more intense color.

This plant has a very wide temperature tolerance and can even endure temperatures close to freezing without harm.   From my experience, I can attest that it is a good plant to naturalize on trees on those areas that are not subject to freezing weather.  Although I have some plants on pots and on baskets, none is as large or as healthy as the plant naturalized on the tree.  This is mainly because they must be repotted from time to time and this means they lose some of their root ball.  The naturalized plant has a massive number of roots that cover the trunk for a few feet around it in all directions. 

However, this plant might not bloom even with the best of care, this can be caused by a number of reasons.  First, if grown in a spot that is too shady the plant will not bloom, it will produce long and spindly weak canes.   If given fertilizer at a time when it is finishing its growing and getting ready for the dry season this will stimulate it to start new growths and can short circuit the blooming season.   If watered at the time when it is normally the dry season in its habitat, this also can inhibit blooming.  Some plants can bloom in the shade, even if fertilized and watered, but often they produce just a few flowers near the tip of the canes.  Low temperatures stimulate blooming in this species.  The plant canes can lose their leaves during the dry season, this is normal and a prelude to blooming.  I should add that I have seen fully leafed canes blooming.  But generally, it has been my experience that plants that keep their leaves bloom less abundantly than those that become deciduous.

My Dendrobium nobile hybrids have bloomed in 2015

Dendrobium Wave King 'Akebono'

Dendrobium Red Emperor 'Prince'

Dendrobium Love Memory 'Fizz'

Dendrobium Country Girl "Warabeuta'

The old Dendrobium nobile hybrids were not easy to bloom.  But this is no longer the case with the new hybrids.  All the plants that I have brought have bloomed several years in a row without having to subject them to a severe drop in temperature.  The best performer is Wave King which bloomed several times during last year.  The one that produced the fewest flowers was Dendrobium Love Memory.

Dendrobium nobile Lindley 1830. Culture: A plant that has bec naturalized on a tree near the town of Corozal, Puerto Rico

Dendrobium nobile is a species that is common in orchid collections in the Island of Puerto Rico.  Unfortunately, few people know or understand the seasonal cycle of this species.  As a result one sees many plants that are quite large and healthy and yet bloom poorly or not at all.  The most common error in cultivating this orchid is keeping it in too much shade.  This plant grows best when cultivated in strong light, it can even stand the full strength of the tropical sun.   However in nature the amount of light exposure this orchid gets varies with the seasons.  During most of the year the plant grows under a leafy canopy, but as the dry season progresses the trees in its native haunts lose their leaves an the plant is exposed to full sun.  Seasonal low temperatures and a dry spell are also elements that happen in this plant habitat that is often not replicated in captivity.

This particular plant is growing ten feet up in a tree in a fork between branches.  The canes are getting a healthy amount of  sunlight because the tree has a fairly open canopy.  The plant experiences a seasonal dip in night temperatures that resembles somewhat what it gets in its native range, although in Corozal, low temperatures normally don't often stray lower that the low sixties.   It is blooming now in what is locally the height of the dry season.

This is clone has nicer flowers than most other plants I have seen locally.  I examined this tree and others that were nearby but I didn't find seedlings.  The plant has no signs of having ever produced a seed pod.  I did find a small seedling under the plant but it was evident it was a vegetative propagation from an old cane.

It is clear the environment in this locality is favorable for the growth of this species.  I have seen even larger specimens of this orchid growing at higher altitudes in Puerto Rico.  Those plants grew well and bloomed abundantly, in contrast with the plants one often sees in the coast.  The common circumstances of the plants I have seen blooming locally is that they were all naturalized to trees in sunny areas and that they were in places that consistently experience temperatures in the range of sixty Fahrenheit or lower during the dry season.

Dendrobium Star Sapphire and Dendrobium nobile

Dendrobium Star Sapphire

Dendrobium nobile

Dendrobium Star Sapphire is a wonderful example of the hybridizer's art.  As you can see. all the characteristics that make Den. nobile a worthwhile species to keep, have been enhaced.  The flowers or the hybrid are larger, the color is deeper and the form of the flower and its presentation are much better.  Unfortunately, a few years ago, my only plant of Den, Star Sapphire departed for the great happy terracota pot in the sky.  This was very surprising as all the other Den, nobile hybrids I have have been very resilient and grow without any problems. 

Two chicks of the common ground dove, Columbigallina passerina, in an orchid growing in a hanging basket

In 2012 I was away from my garden for a few weeks.  When I went to check the shadehouse I saw a common ground dove fleeing in panic from inside the shade house.  I didn't gave any thought to it.  But as I was checking my plants I discovered two dove chicks on the pot of a nobile dendrobium.  The chicks remained utterly still as I moved around the pot.  They were in a shallow nest made out of a few pieces of Tillandsia usneoides.   I severely limited my visits to the shadehouse so that the mother would not abandon the chicks.  The chicks fledged in less than two weeks after I took this photo.  The orchid sustained no harm from having served as a nest.

Dendrobium Love Memory 'Fizz'

This Dendrobium nobile hybrid grew very well in the coastal lowlands of Puerto Rico.   Unfortuantely when the blooming season arrived it was the only adult nobile hybrid not to produce flowers.  Because it appeared that it would not bloom in the coast I took it to the mountains, to an elevation of 1000 feet over sea level.  Because the night temperatures are lower in the mountains than it the coast it appears this provided the needed stimulus to make the plant bloom and in a few weeks flower buds started to develop.  The flowers are holding up well even with the daily downpours that tend to damage less sturdy ones.

Dendrobium Country Girl 'Warabeuta'

Una de los Dendrobium híbridos que compre el año pasado.  Esta planta volvió a florecer pero con pocas flores.  No me sorprende ya que no la fertilice en ningún momento.

Dendrobium Wave King 'Akebono' a nobile hybrid that bloomed in the hot coastal lowlands of Puerto Rico

In the past I would never buy nobile hybrids due to the fact that they would not bloom in the hot coastal lowlands of Puerto Rico.  Yes they would grow,  and you would get beautiful large plants, but flowers would be few and far between if you got any at all.  But last year, as I was passing a large selection of orchids in a local hardware store I could not help but be seduced by the gorgeous color combination of this nobile hybrid Dendrobium.   I brought the plant home, enjoyed its flowers and when they faded moved it to my shade house.  I put the plant in a place where it would get very bright light but no direct sunlight.  It stayed there the whole year.  It grew well with the same care I give my other orchids.  The only difference was that at the end of December I stopped watering and fertilizing this plant.  To my delight, in January it started producing inflorescences and it has had flowers for weeks now.  Since the inflorescences are not perfectly coordinated, I expect that the plant will be in bloom for most of February and perhaps the first two weeks in March.  I brought a few nobile hybrids last year and this one is by far the best bloomer.  The other plants have produced only one of two inflorescences per plant.

Dendrobium keiki, What causes them to appear?

Dendrobium harveyanum keiki producing a second cane, because it has substantial
roots it can be removed with little fear that it wiil die.

Keikis from unbloomed stem of Dendrobium Yellow Chinsai, probably caused
by too much nitrogen in the fertilized applied late in the growing season

Dendrobium anosmum keikis, these are tiny and have little green tissue to support
independent growth removing keikis this size is not adviced.

Dendrobium anosmum keiki, this plant has a good size for a keiki and a significant growht of roots.   It can be removed with confidence that it has enough reserves to start growing idenpendently

These Dendrobium anosmum keikl have three canes with means they are over due for removal
from the cane, the original cane has decayed completely.

Dendrobium primulinum keiki, although on the small side for a keike the fact that it has two canes
will help this plant adapt to independent living without too much trouble.

Dendrobium fimbriatum oculatum keiki.  This keiki is quite large and can be treated
right away like an adult plant onece it is removed from the cane.

One characteristic of some Dendrobium species is that they have the capacity to produce plantlets from the meristematic tissue that lies in the form of small buds along the sides of the canes of the adult plants.  Most of the year these buds lie dormant, but if they are activated by hormonal changes in the plant they can turn into floral stems or into little plantlets.  In the hobby these little plants are known as keiki, this is the Hawaiian word for baby.  I will use the term keiki to refer to this form of propagation on the rest of this article.  Keikis are plantlets produced vegetatively by the mother plant, it is an asexual type of reproduction which means that the little plants will be exact copies of the mother.

 The frequency of keiki production varies wildly in the Dendrobium genus.  Some species will never, or only very rarely produce them, I have yet to see a keiki in a plant of Dendrobium farmeri or Den. secundum.  In other cases some plants will produce keiki and others of the same species will not.  This is my experience with Den. harveyanum, one plant has produced several keiki while another has never produced them.   Some species will almost always produce one to a few keiki from older canes, an example of these are Den. anosmum, Den. cucullatum and Den. primulinum.  In the extreme of keiki production Den. crumenatum and Den. kingianum produce them frequently and sometimes abundantly. 

There are several circumstances that can stimulate the production of keiki.  A relatively common occurrence is the production of keiki instead of flowers.   Normally canes will not produce keiki in their first year, before they have bloomed.  If a mature cane produces keiki instead of flowers when its blooming season comes around, this means something has disrupted the sequence of metabolic processes that produce the hormonal changes that turn the resting vegetative buds into floral buds.  In Dendrobium descended from Den. nobile and related species, if the plant is given a fertilizer with a high nitrogen content during the latter part of the growing season or the resting plant experiences too high temperatures, this can “short circuit” the blooming response and then it can either not bloom or it can produce keiki where blooms would have been expected.    I have seen plants produce keiki all along the cane where flowers should have been.  In rare cases a plant can both produce keiki and some flowers.   A few days ago a friend showed me one of his Den. nobile hybrids where the plant had produced keikis instead of flowers and then some of these keiki had produced a single flower from the tip of their tiny canes.

In many Dendrobium species the sudden production of keiki by a plant on canes young and old is a signal of significant root loss.  I have frequently observed this on Dendrobium species from the Spathulata section and on hybrids descended from Sphatulata/Phalaenanthe section.  These hybrids are produced by the millions and are commonly sold on Walmart, Home Depot and other stores because they travel well and their flower sprays last for weeks in good condition even in hot weather.  The problem with these Dendrobium is that most the people that buy them often now virtually nothing about their growing needs.   When these orchids are repotted they are frequently put in dense bark mixes that are kept wet.  If the mix is so dense and soggy that it doesn’t allow oxygen to reach the roots, the roots die.   The one common indication that the roots have died is the complete defoliation of the plant.  That is all canes, young and old shed their leaves due to the loss of the capacity for water uptake.   By the way, it is normal for the older canes of many types of Dendrobium to be leafless, it is abnormal for a cane of the year to lose their leaves, particularly in the evergreen types that are common in the retail market.  If the plant is cared for well, it might start growing in its season and if it has a number of healthy canes it can even produce a reasonably large mature growth that will in time produce a new root system.  But if, the loss of roots has been accompanied with the loss of the lower vegetative buds, the plant can produce keiki from the top of the canes.  I have seen plants that have lost the lower vegetative buds because the owner buried the base of the stem under the potting media and the new growths have succumbed to rot.  By the way, sometimes a Dendrobium will produce a new cane from a bud that is located slightly higher in the stem than previous growths, this is not a keiki, as canes produced this way can develop normally to full size.  This sometimes happens when the buds at the base of the stem are lost.

Keiki produced at the top of the canes varies hugely in quantity and quality depending of the ancestry of the plant.  I have an antelope Dendrobium (of the Spathulata section) called Percy’s Passion.  This plant lost its roots and produced a single very large keiki that is for all purposes a small adult plant.  This keiki has even bloomed with a substantial inflorescence while still attached to its mother’s cane.  In these cases these keiki can be cut from their stem, potted and treated as an adult plant, they don’t need any special considerations.

On the other hand some plants will produce tiny keikis at the very tip of the canes.  These keiki are typically one to two inches long and depending on the parent species, can have a substantial quantity of roots or almost none.  Keikis that are smaller than two inches are a special case. They are much more fragile than those that are over two inches and might not survive being detached from the cane.  If they have few roots they will need care that addresses their particular needs and it may be more than the average grower might want to provide, also they will take a long time to reach maturity.  In my experience that hardiness and vigor of these tiny keiki vary depending on the species.  Keiki of anosmum, cucullatum, crumenatum and primulinum larger than two inches long, are quite hardy and survive very well if given appropriate care and an environment with high air humidity.  I have not been so lucky with small keikis of the Phalaenanthe section and of the “antelope” Dendrobium of the Sphatulata section.    In my experience keiki from these groups take more time to grow larger, produce roots more slowly and succumb to rot more readily.  Admittedly this is probably due to the particular environment in which I keep the keiki in my orchid growing area, some people elsewhere might have a different results.

I have observed that older canes sometimes produce keiki even in the absence of any of the issues that I have detailed previously.  My guess as to what causes this is that keiki production in older canes is probably related to the loss of the roots that are connected to that particular cane.  In these cases the plant still has a healthy root system in his younger canes and all the canes receive moisture from those roots, so this keiki production is not related to any distress from the part of the plant.  I don’t cut out these keikis until they have at least two canes and a significant number of roots. 

If a cane losses its vascular connection with the rest of the plant it can start producing keiki.  This may happen if part of the stem rots or is damaged.  If the base of the stem is buried in the media the death of the base of the stem might not be evident to the casual observer.  Also even though the cane connection to the vascular system is severed there still might be a substantial amount of dead but not decayed tissue holding the cane together with the rest of the plant.  When this happens to my pendent Dendrobium I may cut the cane in the part that has decayed and plant the keiki, still with the cane attached, in another container or mount.  This often makes a huge difference in the speed in which the keiki reaches adults size, as the piece of cane can provide, if large enough, with enough support to allow the keiki to produce a substantially larger new cane in its next growth phase.

Many growers propagate their Dendrobium using the capacity of these plants to produce keiki.   They cut the older canes into three to four node sections and lay them in sand that is kept moist.  I have seen this method producing satisfactory results with canes from “soft cane” Dendrobiums such as anosmum, cucullatum and with many of the types of the Dendrobium that are available at department stores and that are lumped in the literature under the denomination “evergreen”.

Dendrobium anosmum and their relatives, warning signs of cultural trouble

Vigorous and healthy root growth, note that the cane producing the roots is twice as thick as the previous growth

New roots are white older ones are grey green, absence of root growth is a clear signal of trouble

Fungal and bacterial infections can strike with astonishing speed and virulence, this is all that remained of a specimen plant of Dendrobium formosum var. giganteum.  If the gravity of the situation had been recognized on time at least some pices would have been saved for propagation

This Dendrobium nobile has been growing for many years in an avocado tree under hot tropical conditions.  It has never bloomed although in all aspects it is mature plant fully capable of blooming.

Dendrobium nobile blooming in a shady and cool location.

A Dendrobium phalaenopsis derived hybrid which lost all its roots due to inappropiate potting, all the old roots are dead but some new roots are showing their tips near the base of the canes.

The buds at the base of this canes are dead so the plant is producing new growths from buds higher up in the cane.

The base of these canes of Den. primulinum was damaged by sunburn and died.     The canes were bent so that the keikis produced by them can attach themselves to the basket.  Notice the many keikis and their abundant root growth.

Den. phalaenopsis hybrid grown with its roots exposed.  Note the abundant flower production and the fully leafed new cane.  It is normal for older canes to lose their leaves after the first year.

Under good care some keikis will bloom even when they are not affixed to anything

When they are growing at their preferred temperature and lighting range, well cared pendent dendrobiums grow vigorously, without any particular trouble and bloom reasonably well. But when they are grown under conditions that are unsuitable for them several things happen that serve as a warning signs that the plant is not doing well. I will detail some that I have learned from the bitterest experience. This is a work in progress and I will try to add information as time permits.

I. When your plant needs a colder rest period to bloom than you can provide.

If a plant needs a colder rest period to bloom but otherwise the conditions are to its liking you will get an endless production of handsome canes, which will be plump and healthy but will never bloom or even get in bud. Because circumstances prevent them from blooming these plants channel their energy into growth and can produce quite large plants. One Den. chrysanthum I have eventually produced a ten feet long cane. This particular plant has never produced even a single bud under the local climatical conditions. Dendrobium nobile will not usually bloom in coastal Puerto Rico but will bloom nicely if moved to locations about a 1,000 feet high in the mountain areas and in certain colder inland areas. There are plants here and there that bloom under conditions that are not in their usual preferred range but usually they do so erratically or poorly.

II. When the temperature is not in the preferred range for growth.

The first signs of trouble in this case is usually a lack of root growth. Unfortunately some pendent dendrobiums can survive for many years growing weakly and with root systems that barely sustain whatever meagre growth they manage. It can happen that the plants perk up and do produce good growth during brief times when conditions are to their liking, but as soon as temperatures drift out of their preferred range the plants weaken again. I brought a Den. falconeri that managed to survive ten years by growing acceptably during the brief weeks that local temperatures dipped and then sulking the rest of the year. Strenuous efforts to sustain this plant only lengthened the agony. Eventually the plant dissolved into a mass of tiny canes and diminutive keikis that were too weak to survive the summers heat. Keiki production on a a same year growth is also a very bad warning sign. It usually means that the plant inability to produce roots has made it transfer its energy to keiki production.

III. When it is not getting enough sunlight

If your plant is not getting enough sunlight to bloom properly you will probably get a few blooms right on the tip of the cane. A plant that might produce dozens of blooms might only produce two or three. The canes themselves might get to be abnormally long and thin. The leaves will have a deep green color.

IV. When roots are not entering the potting mix, or holding the mount.

This probably mean the mix is unsuitable for the plant because it has some characteristic that is inhibiting or killing root growth. A friend of mine accidentally killed many of his orchids by mounting them on the wood of a plant whose wood is permeated by a substance this plant secretes to kill other plants that  might compete with it for food or sunlight.  

V. A growth coming from a cane other than last years cane, if last year cane doesn't grow.

It probably means that the base of its newer cane is dead and the plant is trying to keep alive by producing growths elsewhere. In some plants, (this is an specially insidious occurrence in pendent dendrobiums) a cane that has shed its leaves can continue attached to a dead base without any obvious signs of distress for months before decay reveals that the base is dead.

VI.When a cane suddenly stops growing in the middle of producing a new leaf.

Usually means that something has severed the connection between the growing tip and the base of the plant. I have seen this happens when an insect gnaws the middle of a cane and makes a cavity but leaves it mostly attached to the base on the sides of the cane. This can cause the death of the whole cane, not just the tip.  On some ocassions this can signal a bacterial or fungal infection of a stealthy nature that only becomes obvious when the cane starts to decay rapidly at a time when it should have been growing.

VII. Blackened and sunken areas between the base of the plant and the lower part of the cane.

Can mean sunburn to this area, can result on the death of the plant but the survival of some of the canes.

VIII. Profuse keiki production on plants that normally produce them sparingly.

A sign of root loss, or of loss of the buds at the base of the plant.

IX. A weaker cane than the previous year's cane.

Plant is not getting what it needs to grow well, common in newly repoted plants that have suffered severe root loss and plant adjusting to new environments.

All this information is courtesy of the need to unwind after an unexpedtedly streesful day at work.

Fragrant Dendrobium, ideal for a perfumed tropical garden



Dendrobium anosmum, all plant of this species I have grown are capable of producing the strong sweet fragrance characteristic of this species, the scientific name, anomum, which means without fragrance, must have been given by an anosmic individual!  This species when well bloomed can produce a powerful fragrance that can be clearly smell from many feet away.

 I have grown Dendrobium orchids for many years and it is one of my favorite orchid genera. Of the Dendrobium, the ones I like best are the fragrant species and hybrids. In the following article I will share details on the species and varieties I have grown, on their fragrances and on the particular quirks that the various species have exhibited under my culture.




Many years ago, in a book whose title I can’t remember, I read about a circular garden that was divided in six parts. Each part of the garden was devoted to a different sense. The garden had five wedges, where all the wedges converged in the center there was another circle, this one devoted to the sixth sense, intuition, and planted with only with golden flowers. This garden captured my imagination, but unfortunately I could not make one. My work as a wildlife biologist has meant that I have lived either in urban areas near universities or deep in protected forests, in these places this type of garden was impossible. But in these settings orchids allowed me to enjoy delightful fragrances, lovely colors and interesting shapes without the need of large spaces, digging, or modifying the landscape in any significant way. Orchids had also the virtue of portability, when I moved, (something that has happened several times during my career), I just took them with me with little problem.


Of all the orchids I have, the Dendrobium represent the best combination of ease of culture, resistance to pests and consistent flowering. This didn’t happen by chance, I did my homework and tried to acquire those species that were best suited for my climatic conditions. Getting the information on the cultural needs of the particular Dendrobium you want to grow is very important as some species need a certain degree of seasonal variation of temperature and moisture to stimulate the buds in the cane to change from the vegetative to flowering mode. Pest resistance is important to me as I don’t want to have to continually use pesticides just to keep my plants in good condition. I do use pesticides but on spot applications and not as preventive measures. In respect to consistent flowering, taking care to give the plants the proper culture they need goes a long way toward achieving regular flowering even on plants that are sometimes labeled as difficult. I suspect that some of the difficulties faced by growers getting their plants to bloom may have to do with growers trying to grow them under conditions that are not really suited to that particular species.

I grow my orchids outside, in a terrace and in a shade house. I live near the central mountain range of Puerto Rico at an altitude of 1000 feet (350 mts), near the center of the Rio Abajo State Forest, where I work. The local temperatures range from 60F (16C) at night at the peak of winter to 90F at daytime in the height of summer, daily temperature variation is about 10 to 15 degrees. There are just two seasons, a dry and a wet one. Humidity fluctuates most of the year between 70 and 80% but varies from 40% during the day at the peak of the dry season to close to 100% at night during the rainy season. The plants are watered weekly during if it doesn’t rain. The plants are regularly watered during the dry season with the exception of those that need a seasonal dry spell. The plants receive fertilizer only when they are growing. Some effort was made to find the optimal sun exposure for each species. It was found that most bloom much better with several hours of exposure to full sunlight in the morning.

Dendrobium anosmum alba, small flowered, small lipped clone

Dendrobium anosmun var. huttoni

The most common type of Den. anosmum is also the most floriferous, it is capable of producing more than sixty flowers on a single cane

Den. anomum variety from Thailand, the flower is suspiciously similar to Den. Nestor but the canes are unique and not similar at all to those of Nestor

Den. Nestor clone, favoring the anosmum parent, but note the fuzzy lip that betrays the parishii ancestry, at time sold as anosmum, all Nestor I have grown have the sweet fragrance associated with anosmum

A Den. Nestor that favors the parishii parent

A Den. Nestor that is quite distinct from most other forms hybrid

A very small lipped form of Den. Nestor with very thick textured flowers

In the front, Den. farmeri var. albiflorum, an outstading clone of this type, in the background a typically colored form. The fragrance is faint but clearly felt when there are many flowers

A flower of Den. farmeri albiflorum

Den. farmeri, a faint fragrance

Dendrobium harveyanum, formerly an extremerly difficult to find species, a slight honey fragrance

Den. crumenatum, powerfully fragrant at certain times of the day

Den. parishii, delightfully frangrant with a sweet note

Den. chrysotoxum, a sweet slight honey fragrance

Den. fimbriatum var. oculatum, a sour citrical fragrance

Den. nobile, a slight sweet fragrance

Dendrobium moschatum it has complex fragrance delightful to some, unpleasant to others

Dendrobium spectabile it has a complex fragrance sweet to some, to others like crushed stinkbugs